1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of selecting record entries on an electronic device.
2. Related Art
As the components required to build a computer system have reduced in size, new categories of computer systems have emerged. One of the new categories of computer systems is the “palmtop” computer system. A palmtop computer system is a computer that is small enough to be held in the hand of a user and can therefore be “palm-sized.” Most palmtop computer systems are used to implement various personal information management (PIM) applications such as an address book, a daily organizer, scheduling calendar, and electronic notepads, to name a few. Palmtop computers with PIM software have been known as Personal Digital Assistants (hereinafter referred to as “PDAs”).
Heretofore, selection of an entire record by a user for some action to be performed on the record entry involved complicated or unfriendly user interactions. These actions, such as deleting, reclassifying, or copying of a record entry, usually required complicated steps to be performed by the user. Further, the complexity and amount of time needed may dissuade the user from performing the actions. Additionally, selection of multiple record entries for further action was not possible.
For example, from a display of line-items of record entries for an application, such as an address book, to reach a display with options such as deleting, or recategorizing, or copying a record entry may require a minimum of three steps. First, the record entry must be opened by tapping on the line-item. Second, the “edit” window must be selected by tapping on the “edit” window. Third, a “details” window must be selected by tapping on the “details” window to reach the option windows, such as a window for deletion, or to copy the record entry.
As shown, reaching some options for actions to be taken on an entire record entry may require numerous and complicated steps. Moreover, tapping on a line-item of a record entry is interpreted as a command to open the record entry and not merely as a selection of the line-item of the single record entry. Also, multiple selection of record entries is not possible since only a single record entry can be opened at a certain time.
Previously, an unsuccessful attempt was made for selecting line-items of record entries based on time. The action of holding a stylus down on a display or a line-item for a specific period of time would determine the action to be performed on the record entry of that line-item, such as the selection of an single record entry. The approach was unfriendly to the user because it gave the user a detached sense from the action to be taken. In other words, the user had to wait while holding the stylus down on the PDA to perform an action on the PDA that seemed quite simple. The more time the user waited, it seemed that more time was wasted by the user.
Thus, a need exists for a more user-friendly and less complicated mechanism for selecting record entries. Also, a need exists for a more efficient mechanism for performing actions on multiple record entries.